It would be very easy for me to pile drive back into my routine, now that I’m back from a month away.
But yesterday, I was restless.
I turned it over this question in my mind for an hour while at yoga class.
“What could I do to honor the transition?”
I had done a powerful thing by working from another country for a month. During college, I watched kids go away to ‘semester abroad.’ I wanted to go, but it wasn’t financially feasible since I was paying for college myself. At 50 years old, I saved and planned for this month away. It was the first time I had untethered from my job in television, and put in systems and processes that allowed me to work with clients from anywhere. A month returned, surely I was not the same person who boarded the flight at JFK in early June.
The facilitator of a class I took in 2010 once observed: Why are brides sad on their wedding day?
“It’s because it’s a transition,” she went on to say. “Good or bad (getting divorced), it’s a transition all the same. How will you honor this moment rather than race past it today?”
Rather than be the old Joya, how will I not race past it? I made a decision after yoga class. In fact, I made three. Perhaps this is helpful to you as you transition to or back from a vacation this summer:
1. I did one thing from my routine in Paris. I went to a coffee shop in my favorite New York neighborhood and had a cappuccino. I actually sat down, rather than race out the door, takeaway cup in hand. Well, first I thought about why coffee has to cost $6.00 (Welcome back to New York). Then I admired the foliage in the West Village-flower-shop-turned-coffee-shop Rosencrans for at least 5 minutes. It reminded me of walking first thing in the morning to the local boulangerie and having an espresso in the mini cups, and a croissant as light as air.
2. In Paris, I pledged to marvel at least at one thing each day. Dr. Joe Dispenza talks about the importance of being in ‘awe of one’s life.’ It galvanizes so much goodness to create the reality we want. In the evening, I walked to the waterfront in Dumbo near my home, craned my neck up, and marveled at the spans of the Manhattan bridge, the helicopters above. Each time I told someone in France, I was from New York, they would verbally salivate. Everyone had a longing for what I took for granted. So I remembered to stand under those big spans and be grateful that I get to call this home.
3. I made two lists. The list of to-do’s, pledged to do three items, and gave myself grace in advance for not doing all 15.
The next list was even more important: I listed out all the things I don’t want on my return. In some ways, making this list is easier.
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I host a business Mastermind for women leaders, called the Samita Lab. For 12 months, the women are building a powerful personal brand, culminating in giving a Tedx style talk on a New York City stage November 16th. If you would like to join next year’s Mastermind, join the waitlist here
The next adventure is Istanbul in August. I host an annual sail with my women leaders. Tomorrow, Ill share what I am packing.
